Hodl means to hold the line, don’t sell.

What started out as a typo of the word “hold” in a late-night message board discussion from the dark ages of 2013, has since turned into the mission statement and trading philosophy, and investment strategy for many cryptocurrency traders.

The term describes holding onto your cryptocurrency for the long-term and never selling along the way, even when the market turns volatile and prices start to drop.

Traders who hodl are called hodlers.

Some traders believe HODL is an acronym for “hold on for dear life“, describing what hodlers do when faced with volatile market conditions – that is, not selling.

Some traders view hodling as a rallying cry against day traders who move in and out of the market, who may be there just for the quick buck, just for speculation, who might not have any vested interest in the growth and adoption of the asset or cryptocurrency market as a whole.